CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Most of us are doing our shopping online nowadays.
PayPal is one way to pay for those purchases, and criminals are taking advantage.
Cybersecurity experts with VPNOverview.com have come up with a list of the most common PayPal scams, so you won’t become a victim yourself.
A lot of them happen over e-mail.
VPNOverview says it’s a scammer’s preferred method of stealing your money.
There are several red flags to look out for in a PayPal-related e-mail scam.
The message could say there’s a problem with your account, you have a promotional offer or money waiting, or there’s been suspicious activity in your PayPal account, and the number you’re asked to call takes you to a scam call center.
Another fake e-mail might say you’ve won a lot of money, but to get it, you have to send a small sum through PayPal to cover the transaction fees first.
Other scams include alternate payment methods, pending payments, fake charities, and even shipping addresses.
So how do you know what’s legit?
VPNOverview says only contact PayPal using the number listed on its website, and any official PayPal communications will always address you by name.
It’s also a good idea to be wary of e-mail links and attachments. Don’t open them.
Log in to your PayPal account directly instead.
VPNOverview also advises to only deal with verified buyers and sellers.
And when it comes to shipping, always use your own shipping method, and only ship to the address on the Transaction Details page.
Other advice? Remember to never send money outside of PayPal if you’ve conducted a transaction on the website.
It also never hurts to get good antivirus software on your computer.
VPNOverview recommends Norton.
